As your Salesforce project evolves, you’ll eventually need to make enhancements. When it comes to flows, you have two options:
- Build a new flow to manage the new functionality
- Edit an existing flow and add the new functionality
Option 1 is a good choice if the change can be made in the existing flow without having to add any (or adding just a few) elements.
For example, let’s say you need to change an Opportunity’s status from “Open” to “Qualified”. Since setting the status is in the existing flow, you probably should update this flow.
Option 2 is a better option when you need to add functionality that’s not directly related to the existing flow.
For example, adding a bunch of default Opportunity Products. This could be placed in a subflow and called from the existing flow. Or it can be placed in a completely independent flow.
Important note. When you have multiple record-triggered flows that touch the same object under similar conditions, you are able to control their execution order.
In the flow settings, under “Show Advanced”, there’s a field called “Trigger Order”. This sets the execution order for the same object with the same trigger (before save or after save).
The takeaway
When adding functionality, consider whether you should update the existing flow or create a new one.